$500 Million Powerball Jackpot is Not a Fluke, It’s Part of a Plan That Appears to be Working

The Powerball jackpot for Wednesday has soared to about $500 million, which is obviously an amount that will only further ticket sales.  Nobody has won the Powerball since October, but there's another reason the jackpot has hit legendary status.

StarTribune.com is reporting that the main reason is that Powerball tickets doubled in price in January to $2, and while the number of tickets sold initially dropped, sales revenue has increased by about 35 percent over 2011.

The increased price means more revenue for the state and jackpots that can grow faster than in the past.  Once the jackpot hits a high level, then that growth is even more dramatic as more and more people buy tickets until winning tickets are announced.

Did you buy a Powerball ticket?  If you're a big winner, what is the first thing you would do?